Which pair best illustrates a hyponym relationship?

Which pair best illustrates a hyponym relationship?

• A. Banana to Fruit
• B. Wheel to Car
• C. River to Water
• D. Book to Read

Answer: (A)

Hyponymy is when one term names a more specific member of a broader category. In the pair banana and fruit, banana is a kind of fruit, so it clearly shows the hyponym relationship: banana is a specific example within the larger fruit category, and fruit is the broader term (the hypernym). The other pairs don’t fit as cleanly. A wheel and a car describe a part-to-whole relationship—a wheel is a component of a car, not a more specific kind of car. River and water suggest that a river is a kind of water, which is a looser, less precise way to express a category membership. Book and read involve an action pair rather than a hierarchical category relationship.

Hyponymy is when one term names a more specific member of a broader category. In the pair banana and fruit, banana is a kind of fruit, so it clearly shows the hyponym relationship: banana is a specific example within the larger fruit category, and fruit is the broader term (the hypernym).

The other pairs don’t fit as cleanly. A wheel and a car describe a part-to-whole relationship—a wheel is a component of a car, not a more specific kind of car. River and water suggest that a river is a kind of water, which is a looser, less precise way to express a category membership. Book and read involve an action pair rather than a hierarchical category relationship.